


The Birthday Party

by vcg73



Series: Dad Kurt & Doc Adam AU [3]
Category: Glee
Genre: Blaine is in this too but I didn't want to tag him, Gen, M/M, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 18:48:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15735279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: Kurt's plan for a small birthday get-together on his son's 2nd birthday have accidentally turned into a circus.





	The Birthday Party

**Author's Note:**

> Third in a series of slightly-future AU stories about Kurt as a single dad, and Adam as the young pediatrician he falls in love with.

It was just after 3pm on Friday afternoon when Adam Crawford got off the bus and headed toward the park near Kurt Hummel’s apartment. As he came closer, however, his steps faltered and he began to wonder if he had somehow got off at the wrong stop.

He was certain that he remembered Kurt saying that he would be having a modest gathering, a picnic in the park for friends and family, with a few gifts and simple foods as befit the birthday of a 2 year old. Perhaps someone else had reserved this space ahead of Kurt’s party, to do a film shoot or magazine layout. The gathering sprawled before Adam’s eyes would definitely not be out of place in some celebrity’s publicity photo-spread.

He had been able to hear the event before he even drew close enough to see it clearly, and as he ventured farther into the little park he could see that the entire space had been transformed into a fairground of sorts. He did not spot any cameras, but there were dozens of people milling about and indulging in a variety of entertainments. There were several games going on next to the playground, designs being created for the children (and a few adults) by a face-painter, as well as sketches created on the spot by a charcoal portrait artist. Other people were taking turns at a small petting zoo, an impromptu batting challenge over at the baseball diamond, or standing in line for a gigantic bounce castle. As he approached the center of the park, Adam could see what appeared to be a large lunch buffet, complete with a uniformed wait-staff helping people with plates and circling the crowd with various platters of hors d’oeuvres. There was even a live band, and a clown handing out balloons to the children, for heaven sake!

Adam winced as a trio of shrieking ten year olds raced past, nearly bowling him over. Certainly he had nothing against a good party, but this was absurd. Only a few of the children here appeared to have adult supervision and even fewer were in Austen’s age group. Adam yelled a warning to the racers’ retreating backs, afraid that little ones might be injured by the more rambunctious older kids, but he was ignored. Assuming they had even heard him, which was doubtful.

The entire event was loud and chaotic. It had to be someone else’s gathering. Except … if that were the case and their party had been moved to some other location, wouldn’t Kurt have texted him to let him know?

As Adam walked toward one of the buffet servers, intending to ask for information, he was surprised to see a banner reading: ‘HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, AUSTEN!’ that had been stretched between two trees above a table covered with an enormous stack of wrapped gifts, and a multi-layered confection that would put the average wedding cake to shame.

Though he did not know Kurt very well yet, it struck Adam as being completely contrary to his personal style. What on earth had possessed him?

Glancing down at the small gift in his right hand, covered in cheery yellow wrapping paper and a cascade of rainbow curling ribbon, he sighed. Maybe he was just jealous. He had been rather proud of this gift, a rare DVD box-set of the original season of “Puppy Pals” that he had spotted in the window of a hobby shop near his office, but it looked very poor in comparison with the wealth of packages on that table. And the tin of home-baked cupcakes that he had whipped up after last night’s shift at the clinic appeared positively pathetic next to that gargantuan cake.

“Adam! I’m so happy you’re here. Thanks for coming.”

He turned, quickly manufacturing a smile when he realized that Kurt was jogging towards him. So much for the cowardly impulse to slip out the back and claim an emergency at the Clinic!

“Yes, glad to be here,” he said, attempting to hide the poor little baking tin behind his back. He bobbed forward and kissed Kurt on the cheek. Resisting the knee-jerk desire to apologize for it, he held up his gift and said, “For the guest of honor.”

“Oh, thank you.” Kurt looked around and grimaced. “He’s over by the petting zoo. My dad and step-mother arrived yesterday and I’m glad they did, because Austen started having a meltdown about twenty minutes ago. My dad has always had the magic touch and he assured me that a little private time and a chance to pet pygmy goats would do wonders. Honestly, I’m not sure if he meant for Austen or for himself.”

“I tend to agree. This is a great deal of stimulation all at once,” Adam agreed, doing his best not to sound judgmental.

Kurt snorted. “Tell me about it. He was giddy when we first arrived, but it only took about half an hour for him to become overwhelmed. I can’t blame him. I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed myself. I don’t even know half these people. Just Austen’s two best friends from Day Care, their parents, my parents, the Barry-St James family, the Corcorans, and now you. And Blaine of course.”

Startled by the sour note in his voice as he spoke that final name, Adam realized, “This wasn’t your doing, was it?”

“Oh my god, no,” Kurt said vehemently. “I received a text message from my ex husband a couple of hours ago telling me that he was arranging a little surprise for Austen, with help from Rachel. She, Jesse, and their little girl were already invited, so I didn’t think anything of it. In fact, I was happy that Blaine had cared enough to pay his son an in-person visit for his birthday. I was expecting to find that they’d hired a show-choir and were going to perform a special song or something. I was not expecting the Saint Anderberry Carnival and Side-show.”

Relieved, and immediately sympathetic, Adam laughed. “It’s a bit much.”

Kurt flashed him a wry smile. “You Englishmen have a way with understatement. I have a feeling we’re breaking at least three zoning laws with this party.” Suddenly, he perked up. “Oh, cupcakes!”

Adam’s tense posture had relaxed and his badly hidden baking efforts had become visible. Holding it out to Kurt, he said, “I suppose he’ll never notice it in the shadow of that cake, but here’s my contribution to the day.”

A smile lit Kurt’s face as he accepted the dessert and realized that Adam had decorated each cupcake with a swirl of colored frosting and an animal lollipop. “Aww, he’ll love these! Why don’t we go find him and you can show him what you brought. I decided to leave it for a surprise until you confirmed this morning, but he’s thrilled that you could come to his birthday party.”

Adam had his doubts on that score, especially after a visit from his rarely seen second dad, but he was willing. “Lead the way.” As they walked toward the little fenced animal enclosure, he checked the surrounding crowd. There had to be at least fifty people here, about two thirds of them children. Looking at the adults with curious eyes, he asked, “Which one is your ex?”

“Oh, uh,” Kurt paused, glancing around for a moment before he pointed to a group over by the bouncy castle. “That’s him.”

Adam squinted. He could see two middle-aged women, a pre-teen girl, and a young man who smiled indulgently at the surrounding activity and bounced a baby in his arms. Adam tried not to compare himself to the man, who was unfairly handsome, telling himself that he had no reason to feel jealous of Kurt’s past. “Kind of him to look after someone’s baby for them.”

Kurt looked baffled until he followed Adam’s gaze. Then he laughed. “No, that’s not Blaine! That’s Jesse St. James, Rachel’s husband; with their daughter Barbra. The people he’s talking to are Rachel’s biological mother, Shelby Corcoran, my step-mother Carole, and Shelby’s daughter Beth. Beth is also Austen’s half-sister.” Seeing the confusion in Adam’s face, he smiled ruefully. “Remember how I told you that my Ohio glee club was unusually close? Well, Rachel has two gay fathers and Shelby was hired to be their surrogate back in the day. It gave her a financial start, but apparently she always regretted not having a child of her own. So when my choir friend Quinn got pregnant at 16, Shelby decided to adopt the baby. That’s Beth. And Quinn later offered to donate an egg for us when Blaine and I wanted to have a baby. So, technically speaking, Beth and Austen are maternal siblings.”

“So, Rachel Berry is Shelby’s biological daughter, and she also carried the child who is the biological brother of her birth-mother’s adoptive daughter, becoming a second generation surrogate to a gay couple?”

“You’ve got it!” Kurt said proudly.

“And yet I still feel incredibly confused,” Adam said, shaking his head.

Kurt laughed. “I understand, believe me. Remind me to tell you the entire convoluted story of New Directions some time. Anyway, to answer your original question, Blaine is the guy who’s singing.”

Adam’s cheeks warmed as he realized that he had noticed Austen’s second father when he first entered the park. He was hard to miss in the eye-poppingly bright orange Capri pants and equally vivid purple polo and multi-colored bow-tie he wore. He was inside the bounce castle with a group of youngsters, singing along with the band to a loud rendition of the annoyingly catchy song, ‘Bubblegum’ that was currently all over pop radio. “Oh, bugger. I’m so sorry, Kurt.”

Cocking his head, Kurt asked, “For what? It was an easy mistake to make. I should have been more specific.”

“Not for that. It’s just … I’m afraid then when I first saw him, I mistook your ex for…”

Humor danced in Kurt’s eyes as he asked, “For what?”

“A clown,” Adam admitted reluctantly. Kurt burst into a loud surprised laugh, quickly clapping a hand over his mouth to keep from drawing attention. Adam waved a hand vaguely in the stranger’s direction and said, “I’m sorry! I thought he’d been hired to entertain the little ones. He has paint designs all over his face, and he’s wearing that dreadful riot of color, and he was handing out balloons to children when I walked up. I just . . . it seemed like a natural conclusion given the rest of the party.”

Kurt struggled to quit laughing, failing twice before squeaking, “Don’t apologize! That’s the b-b-best thing I’ve heard all day!” Then he was off again, laughing so hard that tears were leaking from the corners of his eyes as he gasped for breath.

Adam smiled. It was an embarrassing error, to be sure, but he found he could not regret it when watched the tension drain from Kurt. Then, just as Kurt finally managed to catch his breath, they were rescued by a high pitched voice yelling out, “Hi!”

Turning with a move practiced on wildly running younger siblings, nieces, and nephews, Adam switched the present to his left hand and used the right to catch up the little body that hurled itself at him. He lifted Austen Hummel and spun him around a couple of times. “Hullo, Austen. Happy Birthday!” he said cheerily. “Thank you for inviting me to your party.”

“You way-come,” he returned with a sunny smile.

Adam’s blond brows rose in surprise at the polite response and Kurt said, “We’ve been practicing that one all week. He’s doing really well.”

“Indeed,” Adam agreed. “I’m very impressed.”

He gave the boy a quick hug before setting him on his feet again. A man who had been following the child at a more leisurely pace held out a hand, introducing himself as Kurt’s father, Burt.

“Lovely to meet you,” Adam said, meaning it. There was something solid and comfortable about Burt Hummel, even on first glance. The pure love in the man’s eyes when he watched his grandson hold up his arms in mute demand of a hug from Kurt, who happily obliged, made Adam warm to the older Mr. Hummel immediately.

“Good to meet you too,” Burt said. His eyes twinkled with mischief as he playfully elbowed Kurt and said, “Nice catch, son. I always wanted a doctor in the family.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Dad.”

“We’ve only been on one date; two if you count today,” Adam told him.

He grinned. “I know. Kurt told me the story about the bus. And that you dressed up and behaved like a real gentleman when you came to see his show the other night. He was pretty impressed by you.”

“Daaad,” Kurt whined.

Unperturbed by the reaction, he went on. “So, you’re a pediatrician, huh? You must really like kids. Got any of your own?”

“No, sir,” Adam replied. “Just a very large family. I’m the middle child of seven, and I have several nieces and nephews.”

Kurt looked at him, startled. “I thought you said you had three siblings.”

Adam shook his head. “No, I said I have three younger sibs. I also have an older half-brother from my mother’s side and two older half-sisters from my dad’s. Each was the other’s second spouse.”

“Huh,” Kurt said, smiling a little. “See, Dad? Too much we don’t know about each other yet to start planning any weddings.”

Burt smiled back. “Fair enough.” He clapped Adam on the back and said, “Just having a little fun there, Doc. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not a bit.”

From his elevated position on Kurt’s hip, Austen had been looking from adult to adult as they got to know each other, but then Kurt adjusted the tray in his other hand and the little boy’s blue-green eyes lit up with excitement. “Hippos!”

“Aren’t they cute? I told you Adam would be bringing something special,” Kurt told him with a smile, holding the tray closer so he could look over the cupcakes. “See? There’s a monkey! And a lion! And,” he laughed, “a cherry zebra! I think that one is for me. Is that okay?”

The child nodded and pointed to an orange hippopotamus poking out of a yellow frosted cupcake. “Austen!” he chose happily.

“I had a feeling you would pick that one, but why don’t we save it until after you’ve had your lunch?” Adam suggested, earning himself an approving nod from Kurt. He wiggled the yellow-papered package in his hand. “This is also for you. I hope you’ll enjoy it.”

Austen gleefully grabbed the present and poised himself to rip into it when a gentle clearing of his father’s throat made him pause. Looking at him with big pleading eyes, he said, “Pleeeease?”

“I told him he would have to wait to open presents until after everyone had cake,” Kurt quickly explained to Adam. Rolling his eyes when Adam winked at Austen and then turned his best pleading expression on, Kurt said, “Two against one is not fair.”

Next to Kurt, his smiling father pushed back the baseball cap on his head and added a sad face of his own. Kurt burst out laughing. “Oh my god. All right. Fine. Just this one!”

That was good enough for the boy, who greedily tore off the ribbon and ripped open the paper. He crowed with delight at the sight of his most beloved Puppy Pals character, Ernestine the English Bulldog, smiling her tongue-lolling smile at him from the cover of the video. “Ernie!”

Before Adam could reply, Austen had hurled himself forward, nearly causing Kurt to drop the cupcake tin. Luckily, Adam had good reflexes, managing to catch the child while Burt helped to rescue dessert. Austen threw his arms around Adam’s neck, hugging the doctor excitedly.

“Aww, I think he likes it,” Adam said, eyes shining.

Burt quickly snapped a photo with his phone. “Whatcha got there, Scooter?”he asked the little boy.

Austen squirmed down and trotted over to show off his new treasure. “Gampa! Lookit!”

“Well, I’m trying to, but you need to quit bouncing so I can see,” his grandfather said with a chuckle. He managed to free the video box from the tot’s grasp and held it up to the light so he could read it. He laughed again, raising an amused eyebrow at Kurt as he read aloud, “Over twenty hours of entertainment, including five previously unreleased songs from the inaugural season of the much-loved children’s series. Oh yeah. You and your daddy are going to have lots of fun with this, Austen. Hours, and hours, and hours of fun. Just like I had with him when your dad used to watch the TeleTubbies as a kid.”

Kurt groaned, making Adam laugh. “Your childhood obsession, I’m guessing?”

He nodded. “I’m afraid so. At least for a couple of years, until musicals took over.”

“Riverdance,” Burt said with feeling. “I think I can still hear the sound of tapping after all these years, we watched that thing so many times, both live and on video.”

Adam laughed. “I believe all good parents have that experience in common,” he said. “Mine certainly did, though my personal favorite was Beauty & the Beast. Mum took me to see the ice-skating show and I obsessed over that for months.”

“Oh, don’t tell me that,” Kurt said with a wince. Leaning closer, he whispered, “Shelby and Beth got Austen a set of four tickets to Disney on Ice for his gift.”

Adam grinned widely. “Sounds like fun!”

“Well, if one of his little friends can’t make it, I’ll bring you along as an extra chaperone,” Kurt said ruefully. “Otherwise it’s going to be me and three children under five.”

“I have some connections,” Adam said, “perhaps I’ll see if I can’t wrestle an extra ticket out of one, then you’ll have backup.”

Kurt’s eyes widened and he dramatically grabbed Adam’s chin and kissed him with a loud, “Mmm-Wah!” then gushed, “Bless you, kind sir!”

The playful action brought a bright giggle from Austen, who was watching them from the cradle of his grandfather’s arms.

“Whatcha laughing at, Scooter? Huh? What’s so funny?” he teased, bouncing the little boy and making him laugh harder.

“Daddy kiss Pup Doc!” Austen giggled, hiding his face in Burt’s shoulder.

The older man raised an eyebrow at the name, but Kurt just waved a hand to indicate that he’d explain later. Addressing his son, Kurt said, “That’s because I like Adam. And Adam likes me.” He glanced at Adam, seeming to come to some inner decision as he continued with a hint of shyness. “I think I’m going to ask him to be my boyfriend. And if he says yes, then that means you’ll see us kissing sometimes. Is that okay?”

Adam was smiling brightly. “It’s more than okay with me,” he told the Hummels.

Austen pondered the question for a moment, studying Adam, then looking at his father’s hopeful face. He seemed to recognize that Kurt was serious in asking for his opinion. Finally, he nodded and smiled, puckering his lips and looking at the new couple expectantly. They exchanged another quick, but heartfelt kiss, then each gave the little boy a kiss too; Kurt on his waiting lips and Adam on the cheek.

“Hey, what about the old man?” Burt protested playfully, prompting his son and grandson to his own rosy cheeks. Adam chuckled and settled for another handshake. “That’s more like it! Everybody likes a good kiss every now and then. In fact, you look like you could use a few more!” Burt announced, raining loud smacking kisses all over his grandson’s head and face; causing the little boy to squirm and scream with laughter.

“Kurt?”

Adam was startled by how quickly the humor drained from Kurt when he turned around and discovered that they were being observed. His ex husband had apparently finished his time in the bounce castle and come over to join them. Kurt straightened up, smoothing his hair and clothing. “Hello, Blaine.”

“Kurt,” he said again in a strangely accusatory way, looking Adam up and down and glaring as though he had caught the two of them doing something offensive. “Who is this?”

“This is Adam Crawford,” Kurt said evenly. “Austen’s new pediatrician.”

The short, oily-haired man looked momentarily confused, and then said in an injured tone, “Since when do you kiss your doctors?”

Adam bristled. He did not care for the way this man sounded as though his former husband’s actions were some sort of personal violation, as though Kurt were cheating on him or some such nonsense.

Apparently Kurt felt the same way, for his tone went cold as he said, “Adam is also my boyfriend. We’ve been seeing each other since the day Austen had his ear infection and today we’ve made our status official.”

He and Adam shared a little smile and squeezed each others hands.

When he saw his Daddy’s tense posture relax again, Austen, who had been looking between his fathers with worried eyes, decided to offer a distraction. He wiggled out of Burt’s arms and went to Blaine, offering up his new treasure. “Poppy! Lookit. Puppy Paws!”

“He always calls it that,” Kurt interjected, stroking his son’s chestnut curls fondly. “Adam gave him the whole first season as a birthday present.”

Blaine’s overgrown eyebrows lowered and his face took on a pout. He completely ignored the child tugging at his pant leg and said, “Two weeks seems a bit soon to be inviting some guy to our son’s birthday party, Kurt.”

“You got hair gel clogging up your ears?” Burt interjected, stepping into Blaine’s space and glowering down at him. “Adam is not some guy. He’s the boyfriend. That means he’s important to Kurt and has every right to be here. Especially since, unlike you, he was invited.”

“Dad,” Kurt said, placing a hand on his father’s plaid sleeve and giving his arm a pat. It was both thanks and a clear message that he had this. Burt stood his ground for a moment longer, then grudgingly backed off. “Blaine, who I date and how long I’ve been seeing him, is really none of your business, and I’m not going to let you drag me into a fight over it. Today is supposed to be about Austen, and I’m glad you were able to spend time with him today . . .”

Burt audibly grumbled, “Yeah, all five minutes of it.”

“But,” Kurt continued as though the interruption had not happened, “if you can’t behave like you’re older than most of your guests, then you can head back to New Jersey right now. Because I am not going to put up with you trying to make me uncomfortable, or with ruining what has otherwise been a nice afternoon.”

“Time out?” Austen interjected gravely. He recognized the quality of Kurt’s voice, if not fully comprehending his words. He also knew the consequence for misbehaving and evoking that particular tone.

Kurt raised an eyebrow, humor glinting in the eyes that were so much like his son’s. “Maybe Poppy does need a time out at that. What do you think?”

Austen considered this. When he got a scolding, Daddy usually offered, “Mo’ chance?”

“It seems our birthday boy is willing to give you one more shot,” Kurt said to his ex-husband. “Are you going to behave yourself?”

Blaine flushed. He shot Kurt one last martyred look, then finally gave their son his full attention. “Sorry, Austen. You’re right. This is your party and I promise I’ll be a good boy.” The child beamed at him and again offered the video for his inspection. Blaine cast a cursory glance at the box, then flashed a less than friendly glance towards Adam and said, “That’s a nice present, Austen, but I’ll bet you have even better ones waiting in that big pile over there. Want to go open ‘em?”

To his obvious chagrin, Austen looked to Kurt for permission.

“Let’s call everyone over for cake first,” Kurt suggested. “If everybody has food to occupy them, the other kids won’t get bored before it’s over. That’s a lot of packages to open. In fact, I think we’d better help him or we’ll be here all day.”

Everyone could agree on that much. As they approached the food tables, Adam could see that there were more gifts underneath the table. Where on earth was Kurt going to put it all?

As if hearing his thoughts, Kurt passed the birthday boy’s hand to Burt and waited until they had moved out of earshot before he asked Blaine, “What are we supposed to do with all this? He can’t even play with that battery powered jeep. They make little motor-scooter versions for toddlers but these are for children five to seven years old.”

Blaine stared at the small vehicle blankly. “Oh. It looked like so much fun, I couldn’t resist it. I didn’t think to check the age label before I had it delivered. Maybe I can exchange it. Or, I could store it at my apartment for when he comes to visit. The new place has a storage shed where I can put it until he’s big enough. Cupertina can play with it on visits.”

Kurt grimaced. “The most destructive four year old on the planet? By the time Austen is old enough to play with his own gift, there’ll be nothing left but scrap metal.”

“Good thing his grandpa is a mechanic!” Blaine joked, laughing loudly and then clearing his throat awkwardly when nobody else joined him. “Um, maybe I’ll just keep this one and give it to her for Christmas.” He hurriedly pulled a fold of the long tablecloth down to hide the jeep, while Kurt sighed and moved to settle Austen into the high chair of honor that had been placed squarely in front of the cake.

“Cupertina?” Adam asked.

Kurt snorted. “His niece. Blaine’s brother Cooper had a child with a girl he met on some film shoot in California. He brought her back to our place for Thanksgiving the year we were married, and it was a contest as to which of them was a bigger ditz. They named their baby after the town they were staying in for the film shoot. Mostly because it sounded like Cooper’s name, so that he could remember it I think. They are gorgeous, though, both of them. Their daughter is one of the prettiest children I’ve ever seen, but that beautiful face and those big innocent eyes disguise a baby demon.”

“Takes after her uncle then, does she?”

Kurt laughed again, glancing around quickly to be sure that his ex-husband was not lurking nearby. Adam smirked.

As Burt cupped both hands around his mouth and called for everyone to come over for cake, Rachel joined them from the game stations where she had been organizing a jump rope contest and a competitive game of Twister for older children. She swooped down on Austen and gave him a loud wet kiss on his forehead before placing a little paper birthday crown on his head. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart!” she said happily. “Are you having fun? Wasn’t this a great idea that your Poppy and I had? Don’t you love it?”

Austen looked a little uncertain, but nodded gamely. He loved his Auntie Rachel and had already taken after his daddy in learning to just smile and go along when presented with one of her schemes. Still, he clutched his new DVD to his chest and whimpered when Rachel tried to make him set it aside. She looked to Kurt for help.

He quickly introduced Adam to Rachel, Jesse, Carole, and their other guests, then approached his son and gently freed the box from his tight grasp. “It’s okay, sweetie. Nothing’s going to happen to this. We’ll just keep it safe until it’s time to go home.”

Adam took the box from Kurt, wiggling it to keep Austen’s attention and making sure he saw him tuck it inside the large inner pocket of his jacket. He was thankful he had given in to the impulse to pair his button down and jeans with a light coat when he saw the child relax.

Austen looked around at the gathering crowd, clearly unsure why everyone was suddenly staring at him. He jumped when they burst into an enthusiastic chorus of Happy Birthday, but smiled and clapped when a piece of cake with lots of frosting and a large lighted “2” candle was placed in front of him. He evidently was familiar with this ritual from other people’s birthdays, for he took a deep breath and blew the flame out with no hesitation, beaming when everyone applauded his success. There were many chuckles when the little boy then squished off a piece of the cake with his hand and placed it on a plastic spoon before delivering the bite to his wide-open mouth.

“Close enough,” Kurt laughed, inclined to let Austen do things his own way today. Beside him, Burt was happily snapping photos, ensuring every single event would be immortalized.

Carole, Beth, and Shelby formed a tag team for the rest of the cake, passing it out in an efficient manner that had everyone happily served before Austen was finished destroying his own piece. Kurt had placed Adam’s cupcakes in a safe location on one of the smaller tables, whispering that they’d have some later if Adam cared to stay around after the main event was over.

“I’d be delighted,” Adam said, accepting a piece of cake with a smile from young Beth Corcoran. Now that Kurt had mentioned it, he could definitely see a resemblance about her nose and mouth compared to Austen’s. “Thank you. This looks delicious.”

He took his plate and a cup of organic grape juice and settled into one of the many folding lawn chairs that the event company had supplied, watching as Kurt wiped Austen’s sticky hands off with a couple of wet naps and then took turns with his ex-husband and Rachel in helping the little boy unwrap his wealth of birthday gifts.

From his two little friends, Austen was given a picture book with fuzzy pet-able pictures of animals on each page, and a Lego Juniors train set. He was delighted with both, as he was with his grandparents’ gift of a Georgie the Corgi stuffed animal and a jungle print bedding set, which featured widely yawning cartoon hippos on the pillow cases. He crowed over a large touch-light art pad Kurt gave him, which appeared to be something like a small digital coloring book with dozens of images a child could color over and over, as well as a blank pad where the child could create their own work. Kurt also gave him several new outfits and some interactive educational toys.

Adam nodded approval at the latter. Austen was a bright little lad, who already spoke quite well for his age. He would need intellectual stimulation not to grow bored and restless. Austen was not interested in the clothing, but he was outgrowing many of his own things so a few practical gifts were necessary. Burt and Carole, Rachel, and Mercedes had also supplied a few outfits.

The boy seemed intrigued by an electronic music-box that he got from Auntie Rachel, which had been loaded with a recording of her and Jesse singing favorite children’s songs, turning it this way and that as Rachel showed him all the details. Auntie Mercedes had sent a Little People doll house that included several people and pets, that got a coo of pleasure and several minutes of examination. Austen’s friends also seemed to be excited by the dollhouse and it was pleasing to see that he was eager to share it with them.

Austen flailed and shrieked with delight when he opened Kurt’s last present and discovered a little cloth hand-puppet. It looked like some sort of dragon and he gabbled a stream of baby talk as he waved it at Adam, then at Kurt, too excited to use grown-up words. Adam smiled and joined Burt in snapping photos with his phone. He switched to video mode when Kurt put the puppet over his hand and had the dragon ‘introduce’ himself, giving Austen a bow, a little handshake, and wishing him a happy birthday in a funny squeaky voice that sounded like Kurt had swallowed helium.

It was hard to tear him away from the puppet long enough to open his last few gifts from Blaine, which were numerous and quite expensive, but all seemed either too old for a 2-year-old or geared more toward the father’s interests than the son’s. Adam began to feel genuinely bad for the garishly dressed man as he watched his posture sink lower when his gifts received an indifferent response over and over.

Finally, though, Blaine struck gold with a set of tiny musical instruments, including a guitar, trumpet, keyboard, and plastic microphone all sized for a toddler. Adam smiled at the little boy’s delight and his parent’s relieved pleasure at the sight of it.

Then, to Blaine’s obvious shock, Austen held out the little microphone to Kurt and yelled, “Daddy sing!” There were a few gifts left, which the adults quickly opened, but Austen no longer cared about any of them. He would not be dissuaded from his new idea, using the mic as a small cudgel as he bopped Kurt on the arm and chanted, “Sing! Sing!”

“Austen, we don’t hit,” Kurt scolded him when the whacks started to grow more insistent.

“Sowwy,” he said, giving Kurt his most persuasive smile, all big eyes and charming dimples. “Sing. Sing Daddy!”

Burt Hummel nearly fell over he was laughing so hard. Kurt was obviously wavering under the power of that coaxing stare, and Burt chortled, “Ah, the revenge of grandparenthood. C’mon, son, give the birthday boy a song.”

Happy to play along, the rest of Kurt’s friends began chanting, “Song, song, song, song!”

Blaine had been looking considerably put out, but then his face took on a sly smile and he said, “How about a duet for old times’ sake?”

For a moment, Kurt looked exasperated. Then he smiled and said, “That’s a good idea.” To the annoyance of his ex, and the amusement of his parents and friends, Kurt held out a hand to Rachel and said, “What do you say, Miss Tony Winner? Still remember the song we sang the first time we came to New York?”

Rachel’s bright brown eyes lit up. “Of course!”

While Rachel launched into a dramatic retelling of the time she and Kurt had sneaked into the Gershwin Theater; just two small town kids with big dreams of Broadway; Kurt rescued Austen from his high chair and settled down on a blanket that had been handily placed near Adam’s chair. He leaned back a little, using Adam’s legs for a backrest, and folded his own legs up so that Austen could sit in the center, within the circle of Kurt’s arms. When she realized they were waiting on her, Rachel laughed and sat next to her oldest friend, settling Barbra in her arms as her husband handed the baby down to her.

Together, the two treated their audience to a gentle acapella rendition of “For Good” from the Musical “Wicked”. Adam could feel his heart melting into goo within his chest as he observed the love of the two singers for their children and for each other. Rachel playfully put the little microphone in between the dragon’s paws so he could sing along, which Austen seemed to love.

Baby Barbra fell asleep halfway through the song. Austen, on the other hand, applauded them both loudly when they finished. He crowed for more and Rachel gave him a kiss of thanks, but departed to settle her daughter into a shadier spot for her nap. Kurt leaned down and whispered something in Austen’s ear.

The toddler looked over at his despondent second father and then wriggled out of Kurt’s lap with a helpful boost. He trotted over to the pile of abandoned instruments and picked up the little guitar, which was about the size of a ukulele, and handed it to Blaine. “Poppy tuwn!”

Blaine’s face lit up. “My turn?”

Austen smiled at him. “Song pease.”

Not needing to be asked twice, Blaine settled the boy next to him and sang a soft guitar accompanied rendition of “Tomorrow” from the musical “Annie”. He started out in a rather showy, dramatic style, but as the song progressed and he looked into his son’s blue eyes, Blaine’s own eyes filled with an unexpected sparkle of tears. His singing became softer and more heart-felt, and he choked up more than one observer when his voice grew thick on the fine verse. “Tomorrow. Tomorrow. I’ll love ya, tomorrow. You’re only a daaay awaaay.”

Putting the guitar aside, he suddenly hugged Austen to his chest almost desperately. The little boy seemed to understand that his father needed some comfort, for he put his arms around Blaine’s neck and patted him on the back, making him laugh through his tears.

“That’s what Blaine used to do when Austen had a nightmare,” Kurt said quietly to Adam, watching the two interact. “In his own way, he really does love him. He wasn’t any good at the hard stuff; you know, the moments when the baby wouldn’t stop crying, or when he’d hurt himself, or needed a scolding; but laughter and comforting, those were Blaine’s moments to shine. It surprised me so much when he didn’t want to share custody.”

And it had hurt him, Adam could see, filling in the blank of Kurt’s statement. “Perhaps he had realized by then that he wasn’t cut out for parenthood. The true parenthood of tantrums and tears, as well as laughter and smiles,” Adam said quietly. “Giving up custody; knowing that you would deal with both highs and lows, capably and gladly; may have been the most selfless thing he could ever have done for Austen.”

Kurt was leaning against his legs, holding the hand that Adam had rested atop his shoulder, and he gave it a grateful squeeze. “I’d like to believe that that’s true.” He leaned his head back and looked up at Adam’s face. “Thanks again for coming today. I didn’t know my ex-husband was going to show up when I made the invitation, but today would have been a lot harder without you. Especially since Rachel told me that Blaine has broken up with his lounge singer. Experience tells me that he was hoping to soothe his pride by using the sentiment of the day to convince me to give him another chance.”

 

“And would you have done?” Adam asked, more curious than ill at ease.

He sighed. “I’d like to think not. Unfortunately, he’s always had a way of persuading me to do things that weren’t in my best interest.” Kurt shook his head. “Logic and good intentions be damned.”

Adam nodded. “I understand. Some people have an indelible grip on our hearts, whether we want them to or not. And I can see how a relationship in its infancy might have been abandoned for something old and familiar.” Releasing his hold on Kurt’s shoulder, Adam slipped out of his chair to sit next to him in the soft grass. “But I want you to know that I would have fought for you, Kurt. I may not have history on my side, but I do have a lot to offer, including a heart that’s already set up plenty of living space for you and Austen.”

Good mood restored, Kurt leaned forward and gently kissed his lips. “Thank you for that.” Laying a hand on his chest and smiling when he felt the heartbeat beneath his palm speed up at the contact, he added, “Actually, the lack of history on your side may be a plus. And you should know that you have a place in my heart too. In fact, you’ve pretty much already moved in, put up wallpaper, and set up matching accent chairs.”

He laughed. “So you aren’t sorry that you said what you did to Austen? About you and me?”

“Not at all,” Kurt said, the sincerity in his voice unmistakable. “I meant it. I know it hasn’t been very long yet, but I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite this way with anyone, and I’d like to give us a chance. I wouldn’t have said anything to Austen, knowing that he’s already getting attached to you, if I didn’t want you to be a real part of our lives.”

Adam felt as if his heart was caroling loudly enough for the entire party to hear. He kissed Kurt soundly. “Then I say we give it a go. Call me an old softie, but I was a goner from the first time you and Austen smiled at me on that wretched bus.”

“For me it might have been the beanie puppet show,” Kurt laughed. “You have no idea how relieved I felt when you later confirmed that you were gay and unattached.”

“Same here, believe me,” Adam said with a grin. “I’m ever so grateful that you saved me the unprofessional dilemma of whether or not it was appropriate to make a pass at the father of my new patient.” 

 

Kurt’s cheeks colored a bit and he ducked his head. “I guess I was a little obvious, huh?”

“And thank goodness you were,” Adam said merrily. “Otherwise my life would be nothing but work, work, work. Not a face painter or petting zoo in sight to ease my pathetic lot.”

Kurt laughed. “Well, I’m glad I could help you out with that.”

Behind them, things had also cheered up considerably. Blaine and Jesse St James were laughing as they challenged each other to a ridiculous battle of the bands on miniature guitar and piano, with Shelby Corcoran overseeing the contest. Unnoticed by either of them, Austen had abandoned the music in favor of showing off his new dragon friend to his grandmother and coaxing her into giving him another dessert.

Kurt groaned as he watched Carole hand over one of Adam’s cupcakes, which Austen methodically licked all of the yellow frosting off of, then happily popped the decorative lollipop into his mouth. He abandoned the cake, set the puppet down safely next to Carole, then trotted over to join his best friends, who were using a bottle of water and some handy dirt to make mud-pies. “All those new toys to play with, and he wants mud.”

Adam chuckled. “He’s two, Kurt, and mud is enormous fun.”

He snorted. “You sound like you want to join them. To be honest, I’d rather he run around for a while and burn off some of the sugar high he’s bound to have.”

“I believe I can help with that,” Adam said. Kissing Kurt’s cheek, he levered himself to his feet in one smooth motion and made a show of stomping over to the little ones, arms raised dramatically overhead as he announced, “I am the mud monster! And I smell fresh pies!”

Catching on at once, Austen and his friends shrieked and took off running. Adam chased after them, waving his arms and making roaring noises that brought even more shrill screams of joy. A few other kids noticed them and joined in. Blaine and Jesse looked at each other, shrugged, and abandoned their contest in favor of becoming slavering mud monsters too. Beth Corcoran and her mother decided the boys shouldn’t have all the fun, and soon joined in the chase. Seeing flecks of mud flying in every direction, Kurt was content to keep his distance and observe.

The monsters chased their prey all around the park, tiring themselves out as much as the children. But then, the inevitable happened. Two of the kids stopped paying attention, checking over their shoulders for pursuit instead of watching where they were going. A boy tripped over a girl’s foot, flailed, and went flying, hitting the ground hard and plowing up a couple inches of dirt with his chin. The girl tried and failed to avoid her fallen friend (brother?) and landed hard on her hands and knees. For a moment, everything froze. Then the wailing began.

Adam felt terrible that he had been so caught up in the game that he had failed to keep an eye out. The grown-ups all hurried to see to the fallen children while Kurt ran over to one of the tables and came back with a First Aid kit. 

Shelby Corcoran helped Adam to check over the two whimpering kids, telling him that she was certified in First Aid as part of her job. He accepted the help at once. Kurt had mentioned to him that she ran child-minder service for the offspring of theater people. It was called “Broadway Babies”, and it was where Austen stayed when his dad was at work. The place had been closed for a few days due to an outbreak of chicken pox, an unfortunate event that had had a silver lining in that it had allowed the Corcorans to be free to come to the party today.

Kurt comforted his howling son, who was not hurt, but upset over the distress of his playmates. Adam and Shelby efficiently cleaned up bleeding, dirt-filled scratches and scrapes, checking both children over for broken bones and injuries. Luckily, the damage was confined to some lost skin on hands, knees, and chin, and one punctured lower lip where the little boy had bitten himself when he fell. In just a few minutes, the two patients were patched up and smiling again.

“There you are. Right as rain,” Adam told them, helping the little girl to stand up and receiving a shy hug for his troubles.

He felt a little tug on his sleeve and turned to find Austen Hummel. He had stopped crying and was holding out two of his special lollipops in dirt-crusted hands, the sticks still covered in frosting where he had plucked them free of the cupcakes they had been planted in. Apparently, he felt that his guests deserved a prize for being brave patients. Adam nodded and the two children each took a lollipop, thanking the smaller boy before running off, their injuries seemingly forgotten.

“Thanks for your help,” Adam told Shelby.

“Oh, my pleasure. I’m glad you were here,” she said, wrapping an arm around her observing daughter and saying, “Thanks for inviting us today, Kurt, but I think we’d better get going. Beth has a dance recital tomorrow and I want to make sure she’s well rested.”

“I understand. Thanks for coming today. It was good to see you,” Kurt said, giving both of them a quick hug and a wave goodbye as they wished Austen a happy birthday one last time and departed. He offered Adam a hand up. “Good thing you were here today. How are your patients?”

“Nothing but a few scrapes and a bit of a scare,” Adam said, dusting himself off as he stood. He noted with a moment of dismay that he had managed to get dried mud, grass stains, and frosting all over himself. Ah well, those were the dangers a children’s doctor learned to live with. “Thank you for the candy, Austen. I wouldn’t have thought of that. It was very generous of you to share.”

Austen smiled and grabbed his free hand, saying again, “You way-come.”

The three of them walked hand in hand back to the main gathering, noticing that the party had thinned out quite a bit. Adam realized as he looked around that the majority of the children who had been here earlier must have simply been gate crashers who had been at the park and come to see what was going on. As there was plenty of food and entertainment to go ‘round, they must have been welcomed to stay and play.

In another hour, the party was down to just the Hummels, Adam, Blaine, and the St James family, who stayed only until 6pm, when the Event service began cleaning up. As the workers loaded up leftover food, stacked the chairs and long tables, deflated the bounce house, and loaded the petting zoo animals into their designated vehicle for transportation back to the small farm they called home; Jesse signed an invoice for the no-doubt extravagant cost of the party. Then he, Rachel, and little Barbra also went on their way.

With a dramatic sigh of content, Kurt fell back against Adam’s chest and drew willing arms around his waist. “I’m exhausted,” he said frankly.

Across the picnic blanket from them, Burt chuckled. “I don’t blame you. You didn’t even throw this shindig but you’ve been running around corralling kids and putting out fires ever since we first arrived. Your mom had that gift for being everywhere at once too, and I never figured out how either one of you did it.”

“It’s a gift, I guess,” he said with a shrug. “Pass me that zebra cupcake, would you?”

Carole handed it over with a smile. “I saved it for you. Both Blaine and Jesse made a grab for it, but I held them off.”

“The grape lion was superior anyway,” Adam claimed with a lazy wave of his hand.

Kurt just snorted, delicately plucking his zebra free of the cupcake and clearing it of frosting with delicate little licks that made Adam feel suddenly a bit overheated. He was almost relieved when Kurt finally just stuck the entire lollipop into his mouth. “Delicious,” he said, pulling the candy free long enough to turn his head and give Adam a cherry-flavored peck on the lips. Then a second longer kiss, as if he could not resist the urge.

Adam certainly didn’t fight against that impulse, returning the affectionate gesture with enthusiasm. He licked his lips afterward and agreed, “Delicious.”

Austen, who had been weaving in and around the adults playing some kind of made-up game, toddled up to his grandfather and plopped down next to him. In moments he was napping, holding his dragon in one arm, his toy guitar in the other, and using Burt’s thigh for a pillow. Soon the little boy was snoring loudly enough to bring quiet chuckles from everyone else.

“Told you he takes after Dad,” Kurt said to Adam, laughing when Burt half-heartedly threw a leftover potato chip at him. He looked over at Blaine, who was watching him and Adam with a sulky expression. “Thank you for the party, Blaine. I had my doubts about it when we first got here, but everyone had a really great time. Including me. And aside from the party itself, thanks for spending the day with Austen. I know it meant a lot to him to see you.”

“I’ve missed him,” he said quietly, eyes a bit sad as he looked down at his sleeping son. “I’ve missed both of you.”

“Now that you’re settled, maybe you can have him up to visit for a few days some time soon,” Kurt said, intentionally ignoring the latter half of the statement.

Blaine suddenly flashed a winning smile at him. “I’d like that. Maybe the two of you can come up and spend the weekend over Labor Day. It’ll be just like old times!”

Kurt’s expression looked caught somewhere between a smile and a grimace as he said, “We’ll see.” He checked his watch. “Wow, it’s getting late. I think it’s time I got this little man home. He could use a bath, and I have a feeling I’m going to be reading an extra-long story tonight.”

Burt frowned then as he looked around the pile of unwrapped gifts. “How are we going to carry all of this?”

“I’ll help,” Blaine offered at once.

“No need. After all, there are three of us; four counting Adam,” Carole said, whipping a half dozen folded paper grocery sacks out of her large shoulder bag. “And Blaine, you said you were taking that truck back home with you, so we’re all set. If Burt carries Austen, I’m sure the three of us can handle the rest of the gifts. Thank you for the lovely party.”

She began packing the handled paper bags with motherly efficiency. Adam stifled a grin at the way Kurt’s step-mother had so neatly cut her former son in law off from any chance to invite himself home with Kurt.

Looking rather put out by the dismissal, but unable to find a good argument against it, Blaine forced a smile, shook Burt’s hand, reluctantly shook Adam’s when he offered it, and gave a hug – somewhat stiff on Kurt’s part – to his ex-husband. He kissed Austen’s sleeping face and said, “Tell him I’ll Skype with him next weekend, okay? And that I said Happy Birthday?”

“Of course,” Kurt said warmly. “Thanks again, Blaine.”

He nodded, and without another word, picked up the awkwardly heavy child-sized truck and staggered off to wherever he’d left his car.

Kurt moved to help Carole pack up the gifts. “Thanks,” he told her. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that without being rude.”

“My pleasure,” she said with a conspiratorial wink. “Adam, honey, can you pick up that art pad and the dollhouse? We have just enough bags for everything else but those are a bit too large.”

“Of course,” he agreed, tucking the toys underneath his arms while Kurt gathered up the gift bags and Carole swiftly bundled the picnic blankets and leftover food into the last two shopping bags. Burt expertly settled his sleeping grandson on his shoulder and led the way back to Kurt’s place.

Adam picked the dollhouse up by its handle and tucked the art board under his other arm as he fell into step next to Kurt. He was not insensible to the honor being done him by Burt and Carole, who had seemingly accepted his new place in Kurt’s life. An honor they had rescinded from their former son-in-law if their cool behavior was anything to go by.

“You have a very lovely family, Kurt,” he told his boyfriend. (Boyfriend! He could not help dancing an internal jig over that thought.) “And you and Austen have a wonderful circle of friends. You’re very lucky.”

Kurt looked around at his loved ones and smiled, then shifted one gift-bag-laden hand closer, linking his pinkie with Adam’s, the only part of his hand not occupied with toys. “I think I just might be the luckiest man in New York.”

Adam did not reply, but his finger gave Kurt’s a tiny squeeze. Tonight, he felt certain that they were in competition for that title.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are kind, Comments are treasured.


End file.
